People v. Piquion

—Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Edward McLaughlin, J.), rendered October 29, 1997, convicting defendant, after a nonjury trial, of murder in the second degree, and sentencing him to a term of 25 years to life, unanimously affirmed.

The verdict was based on legally sufficient evidence and was not against the weight of the evidence. Defendant failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he was acting under an extreme emotional disturbance when he stabbed his estranged wife 38 times and then attempted suicide (Penal Law § 125.25 [1] [a]; People v White, 79 NY2d 900 ; People v Casassa, 49 NY2d 668 ). Contrary to defendant’s claim, he satisfied neither the subjective nor the objective element of his defense. The evidence established that, rather than exhibiting a “loss of self-control” (People v Harris, 95 NY2d 316 , 319), defendant “was in full command of his faculties when he brutally murdered the victim” (People v Caban, 213 AD2d 287 , 288, lv denied 86 NY2d 733 ). In addition, the fact that the victim had commenced child support proceedings, coupled with defendant’s purported realization that his marriage was over, did not provide a “reasonable explanation or excuse” for defendant’s alleged mental state (People v Checo, 194 AD2d 410 , lv denied 82 NY2d 715 ). The court, as trier of fact, was entitled to reject the expert testimony presented by defendant.